The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading into the 2026-27 season with designs of winning another NBA title.
The team fell short of this goal back in May, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Despite falling short of the 2025-26 aspirations, Oklahoma City is among the favorites to bring a title home this season. This is in large part due to a roster that is quite possibly the most chalk-full of talent in the NBA.
Explore the way in which the league is viewing the Thunder’s roster below.
Oklahoma City Rosters Many Elite Players
The Thunder are the home of seven top-99 players in the NBA – at least according to Bleacher Report.
The representatives in the ranking below are as follows.
- Alex Caruso (93)
- Cason Wallace (83)
- Ajay Mitchell (81)
- Isaiah Hartenstein (74)
- Jalen Williams (29)
- Chet Holmgren (25)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (3)
This is a testament to how great Sam Presti is when it comes to talent evaluation. Oklahoma City is towing out one of the most balanced rosters in the league, with the “core” star players and role players to show for this.
Ultimately, the Thunder’s growth likely comes down to how the group blends together over the next 82 games.
What This Means for Thunder This Season
The most blatant takeaway from this ranking is that Oklahoma City rosters three elite players.
This inherently gifts the Thunder an advantage in an era where rostering three stars is rare. Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Williams compliment one another incredibly well to make this even more poignant.
Beyond this, the Thunder roster the requisite amount of elite role players to perfectly compliment a trio of stars. Hartenstein, Mitchell, Wallace, and Caruso all bring different positives to the table. They also have extensive experience playing alongside one another, which is an undeniable bonus.
A potential leap from Wallace in year four is perhaps the most crucial step towards the Thunder reaching their full potential. Wallace isn’t the only breakout candidate for Oklahoma City, however.
There are simply multiple Thunder players that are on the precipice of a breakout beyond Wallace. This group includes center Aday Mara, forward Jaylin Williams, guard Jared McCain, and several others.
Not to overdo an overarching theme, but Presti’s exceptional drafting is again taking the forefront here. The simple fact that Mara and Thomas Sorber are able to take backseats to Hartenstein for the time being is a testament to what is building beyond the upcoming season.
Oklahoma City is both ready to win another title in 2026-27, and to compete in the future for years to come. This is between a never-ending revolving door of picking up elite talents, cultivating a uniform culture, and hiring one of the elite coaches in the NBA to guide the group forward.
As far as the season at hand goes, the Thunder start the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The contest will be the first time that Oklahoma City takes on the Spurs since May.
Oklahoma City Thunder Lead NBA With Most Players in Top 100 Rankings